How are heatwaves impacting veg growers across Europe?
The ongoing heatwaves across Europe are wreaking havoc for crops.
Quality, yield and availability of produce are all being impacted as farmers battle against extreme weather conditions.
According to recent data from Copernicus Climate Change Service, June 2026 was the hottest June recorded for western Europe and the second-warmest globally.
The heatwave that hit much of Europe during the second half of June came only a few weeks after a particularly intense heatwave in May, with another heatwave emerging early in July.
This meant the latest June heatwave occurred against a backdrop of increasingly dry soils across western and central Europe, further exacerbating drought conditions that had begun to develop during May's heatwave.
Suppliers
Agriland asked retailers if supply of produce is being impacted as a result of drought.
A spokesperson for Lidl Ireland said significant impacts on its supply chain are not anticipated at present.
"Our focus remains on offering the highest quality products at the best value for our customers," the spokesperson said.
"We continue to work closely with our local Irish suppliers and international partners to ensure consistent supply of our wide range of fresh fruit and vegetables across all our stores."
A Tesco spokesperson said the recent dry weather is putting pressure on some Irish crops, particularly salads and berries.
"While higher temperatures may affect growth and speed up ripening, many fresh Irish seasonal products are now coming into harvest and reaching stores.
"These include swede, carrots, red and white cabbage, and courgettes.
"Europe is experiencing much higher than average temperatures, but it’s still too early to say if any impacts will be seen in the coming months," the spokesperson said.
Potato sector impact
The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) in its latest potato market report this week said that slightly cooler weather in recent days is welcomed by growers but a lack of moisture is still a real concern.
The IFA said: "Yield potential in unirrigated crops is likely to be already reduced.
"Likewise, consumption has been significantly reduced over the past two weeks as consumers focus on salads.
"As the storage season comes to an end, quality issues continue to emerge in remaining stocks as a result, packing quality material continues to tighten."
The association said across Europe, in the processing sector, there are still free buy stocks in store, for which there has been "very little interest all season".
It added: "The extended period of high temperatures and drought is starting to have a marked impact on the availability of the new crop and buyers may return.
"Stocks of processed product appear to be high and there are reports that some of these are being cleared for anaerobic digestion use."
British supplies
AB Fruits, a produce supplier in the UK, has been keeping customers updated online over recent weeks on the heatwave impact on British vegetables.
"Broccoli, cauliflower, British salads and asparagus supplies are currently affected by challenging growing conditions," it said.
It said supplies of these are under pressure, due to prolonged high temperatures and low rainfall, which have reduced yields and affected crop quality.
AB Fruits said customers may notice "some natural seasonal variation in quality and appearance" in produce.
For spinach, for example, the recent spell of extreme hot weather has significantly impacted production, reducing availability in recent days.
The company said: "High temperatures have caused crop stress, resulting in slower growth, yellowing leaves and lower harvest yields.
"To help maintain supply, some spinach is being harvested earlier than usual."
As a result, customers may notice smaller leaves and shorter stalks, along with the presence of cotyledons (seed leaves).
For salad leaves, customers may notice they are smaller or more variable in size, have occasional tip burn or browning around leaf edges, and a reduced shelf life.
"For the best quality, we recommend using products as soon as possible after delivery and storing them correctly under chilled conditions."
French farmers
In France, the vegetable grower association, Legumes de France, recently issued a stark warning about shortages of produce.
In a statement (translated), it said with three significant heatwaves hitting Europe within a short space of time, the season is shaping up to be an "annus horribilis" for French open-field vegetable production.
It said while the third heatwave is still underway, data coming in from the early July spell is pointing to the situation as being "catastrophic".
It said for crops such as salad greens, carrots, leeks, onions and garlic, financial losses are well into the thousands.
Due to a lack of access to water, the association said reseeding or replanting is not possible without a major change in weather conditions in the coming days.
It said shortages of produce are expected in stores in the short-term as imports are unable to make up shortfall.
It has urged the French government to implement support for vegetable farms.
Funding for European growers
In June, over €56 million was approved to support European farmers impacted by extreme weather events.
As part of the response, farmers from Portugal will receive €30 million, Romania €14.8 million, Cyprus €4.6 million, Croatia €4.4 million, and Slovenia €2.8 million.
Throughout 2025 and in the first half of 2026, farmers in those countries witnessed significant damages and suffered economic losses due to adverse climatic events and natural disasters.
For example, the spring and summer 2025 brought freezing temperatures to Croatia, along with excessive rainfall and drought, damaging crops such as fruits, vines and sugar beet.
Meanwhile, in Slovenia, severe spring frosts damaged apple production.
